Safety valve



Dec. 30, 1952 G. J. FRIDERICH SAFETY VALVE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed April28, 1948 INVENTOR. Gerar/ fi/TU/i/VE/ Patented Dec. 30, 1952 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,623,536 SAFETY v-Atvn Gerhard .l. Friderich,Louisville, "Ky. Application April 28, 1948, Serial No. 23.741

2 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883,, as amended April 30, 1928; 3700. G. 757) The invention described herein, if patented, may bemanufactured and used by or for the Government of governmental purposeswithout the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to safety valves for shutting oil the flow ofgasoline to a stove or the like when the flame is extinguished andparticularly to safety valves of the type which are maintained in openposition by a solenoid or electro-magnet associated with a thermocouple.

An object of the invention consists in providing a safety valve in whichthe valve and power unit are mounted in separate and distinctcompartments to preclude possible contamination of the latter. 7

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of asimplified arrangement of parts to facilitate assembly and disassemblyof the device.

A still further object of the invention consists in providing a safetyvalve in which the spring tension on the valve may be readily adjustedto suit varying conditions.

Another object of the invention consists in the provision of a safetyvalve of the type described having its parts so arranged that thebearing for the valve may also serve as an adjusting means for the valvespring; thereby contributing to the compactness and simplicity of thedevice as a whole.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elcvational view of the novel safety valve and thethermocouple for operating the same;

Figure 2 device;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;and,

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the line t-- i of Figure 2. I

As indicated above, the present safety valve is intended for use incontrolling the flow of fuelt'o burners for stoves and the like in whicha thermocouple is mounted adjacent the burner so as to retain the fuelvalve open so long as the burner is in operation and to permit it toclose the burner if the flame should be extinguished for any reasonwhatsoever.

In such devices, it is usual to employ an electroinagnet or the like asthe power unit which is adapted to be energized by the current generatedby the thermocouple and it is, of course, highly is a front elevationalview of the essential that the power unit be shielded from contaminationby the gasoline or other fuel controlled by the valve. The thermocouple,in the present instance, is indicated generally by the numeral I and isconnected with the power unit 2 by means of a cable 3 entering theinterior of the casing 4 through the spud 5. In the present embodimentof the invention, the power unit 2 is in the form of a solenoid, theplunger of which is mechanically connected to a manually operable rod 6having its upper end provided with a head I located exteriorly of thecasing.

The casing {l is formed of two compartments 5 and 9, theforr'ner servingas an enclosure for the valve to be described and the latter adapted tosnugly receive the power unit or solenoid 2. This compartment 9 maybeformed in a separate unit I 0 comprising a secondary casing threadedlyconnected to an extension II of the casing 4, or may be formed as anintegral part of the latter. The compartments 8 and 9 are open at theirupper ends and are provided with a single hood-type closure I Zwhich hasits major portion spaced above the tops of the compartments to providefor the reception of a mechanical connection between the rod 6 and thecontrol valve for the fuel. Additionally, the closure isprovided with anopening I3 axially aligned with the compartment 9 and through which therod 6 extends for convenience in operation. The lid l2 may be secured ina position by a pair of set screws or the like I2 provided with kerfspermitting them to be operated by a coin, servicemans dogtag, or thelike.

The casing 4 is provided with an outlet It adapted to be closed by avertically reciprocal valve comprising a disc portion I5 on which isformed a cone shaped extension I 6 adapted to set in the upper end ofthe outlet l4. Communicating with the vertical passage I4 is ahorizontal duct I'I adapted to be closed at will by a manually operatedvalve I 8 cooperating with the end of the duct adjacent the passage [4.The opposite end of the duct I I communicates with a threaded opening I9to which may be connected a fuel pipe for conveying fuel to the controlapparatus. Also communicating with the compartment 8, at one side of thevalve I6 is a passage 20 leading to a threaded opening 2| to which apipe is to be connected for carrying fuel to the burner (not shown) Thevalve I 5-5-I 65is reciprocally mounted Within the compartments and isprovided with a valve stem 22 extending upwardly through the opening orbore 23 formed in a plug 24 which is threadedly connected to the upperend of the compartment as indicated by the numeral 225. The wall of theopening 23 serves as a slide bearing for the valve rod 22 and isprovided with a pair of diametrically opposed keyways 26 into whichextend the ends of a pin 21 mounted in the body of the valve rod 22,thereby splining the valve rod to the plug 24 for a purpose mentionedbelow. A compression spring 28 encircles the lower portion of the valverod 22 and has its lower end in engagement with the upper surface of thevalve disc l5 and its upper end in engagement with the lower surface ofthe plug 24.

Between the compartments 8 and 8 the casing is provided with a fulcrum29 to which a link 3! is connected by means of a cotter pin or the like30. One end of this link is pivotally connected to the upper end of thevalve rod 22 by a cotter pin 32 and the opposite end thereof ispivotally connected by a cotter pin 33 to a knuckle joint 34 securedadjacent the upper end of the operating rod 6 by means of an additionalcotter pin 35.

In order that the valve body l6 may be pressed with sufficient pressureagainst its seat at all times by means of the spring 28, it is desirablethat some means be provided for adjusting the spring and this adjustmentmay be made through the medium of the threadedly mounted plughereinabove described. By rotating the plug in the proper direction thesame will be caused to move downwardly or upwardly, thereby increasingor decreasing the tension in the spring. The plug 24, due to the factthat it is splined to the valve rod 22, may be rotated, to adjust thespring 28, by means of the link 3 I. For this purpose, it is onlynecessary to remove the lid 12 and disconnect the link 3| from itsfulcrum 29 and the knucl\ joint 34; thereafter the link may serve as ahandle in rotating the valve rod 22 about its axis which through thespline connection with the plug 24 will permit the latter totraveldownwardly or upwardly, in accordance with the direction of rotation, toincrease or decrease the pressure of the spring.

In the operation of the safety valve as disclosed herein, it will beunderstood of course that the thermocouple is to be mounted a jacent theburner, the flow of fuel to which is to be controlled by the safetyvalve, and it will be further understood that the manually operatedvalve I8 is to be opened when the burner is to be placed in operation.To light the burner, it is first necessary to press down upon the head Iof the rod 6 so as to depress one end of the link 3! adjacent the powerunit, thereby raising the valve Hi from its seat and permitting the flowof fuel from the passage l7 and duct is to the interior of the valvecasing 8 and thence downwardly through the passage 28 to a pipe threadedto the opening 2| for conveying the fuel to the burner. After the burneris lighted the rod 6 is maintained in its lowered position for a shortperiod of time necessary for the thermocouple l to generate sufficientcurrent to energize the power unit or solenoid 2 to maintain the valvein its raised position, after which the manual operation of the rod 6may be discontinued. Should the flame be extinguished accidentally orotherwise, the cooling of the thermocouple I will cause the generationof electric current to immediately cease, thus de-energizing the powerunit or solenoid 2 and permitting the spring 28 to force the valve 18upon its seat thereby shutting off further flow of fuel from the opening2| to the fuel pipe leading from the opening to the burner. Should theoperation of the safety valve becomes more or less defective by reasonof improper pressure of the compression spring 28 upon the valve disc18, this defect may be readily overcome by adjusting the verticalposition of the plug 24 to increase or decrease pressure upon thespring, through use of the link 3| as a handle in the manner describedabove.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that I have devised an exceedinglysimple and compact construction of safety valve of the thermocoupletype, that the structure is such as to prevent contamination of thepower unit by contact with the fuel controlled by the valve; thatreliable operation of the valve at all times is insured by theadjustment provided for the valve spring; that adjustment of the springpressure without the use of tools is conveniently provided for in thesplining of the valve rod to the plug or bearing for the rod, and thatthe device may be readily disassembled, also without the use of tools,by releasing the set screws [2, removing the lid and extracting thecotter pins 38, t2 and 33 from the fulcrum 29 and link 3|, and may beassembled just as simply.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what I nowconsider to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, but sincevarious changes may be made in structural details without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, it is intended that all such changes beincluded within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a. device of the class described, a compartmen tal valve casingopen at its upper end, a removable cover for the casing, a reciprocablevalve and valve stem in one compartment, a centrally bored plug threadedinto the upper end of said one compartment and serving as a bearing forthe valve stem, a plined connection between the valve stem and plug, aspring interposed between the valve and plug, a power unit in a othercompartment, a fulcrum positioned between the valve and power unit, alink having.

one end pivoted to the valve stem, and manually operable fastenersconnecting the mid-portion of the link with the fulcrum and the otherend of the link with the power unit, whereby the link may serve as ahandle to rotate the valve stem and the plug splined thereto when themanually operable fasteners are removed.

2. In a device of the class described, a compartmental valve casing, areciprocable valve and valve stem in one compartment, a centrally boredplug threaded into the upper end of said compartment and serving as e,bearing for the valve stem, a splined connection between the valve stemand plug, a spring interposed between the valve and plug, a power unitin another compartment, a fulcrum positioned between the valve and powerunit, a link having one end pivoted to the valve stem, and manuallyoperable fasteners connecting the mid-portion of the link with thefulcrum and the other end of the link with the power unit, whereby thelink may serve as a handle to rotate the valve stem and the plug splinedthereto when the manually operable fasteners are removed.

GERI-IARDJ. FRIDERICl-I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,944,841 Kimball Jan. 23, 19342,237,577 Ray Apr. 8, 1941 2,327,366 Nampa Aug. 24:, 1943 2,328,880Martin Sept. 7, 1943 2,363,073 Mantz Nov. 21, 1944 2,406,246 Ogden Aug.20, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,997 Great Britain Mar.29, 1897

